Chapter 91 - Impersonator

Looking around herself, it seemed the town of Stratnum was a bit active. From what Selbith could observe, many warriors were walking quickly around. Some had determined expressions while others had anxiety. Walking forward toward the entrance, she thought about accessing her menu. Not feeling comfortable without have a weapon on hand, she stopped and began to lift her hand.

"Hey there," someone called from her right.

"..." she responded with glancing in that direction. Three men ranging from an older teen to young adult approached her. Stopping a few feet away, the gunslinger held her ground. Turning to them, she held a neutral expression.

"Yes?" Ami spoke with a blink.

"I haven't seen you before. Are you a new here?" the youngest one asked. He gave the impression of being the most interested amongst the three.

"...In a matter of speaking...yes and no...why?" she answered.

"Do you know about the crisis at hand?" the older one asked.

"...if you are speaking about being trapped in this world...I am aware of it..."

"You seem pretty composed knowing that you logged in. How come?" the man in the middle asked with a small smile.

"..." Selbith responded with a blink. Still giving an impassive expression, she wondered what these men wanted.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well...we don't see many players drop down to Stratnum. Ever since the whole shut down of Surreality, hardly anyone newish logs in. You are just one of few that logged in since we all got stuck here," the older one explained. "Oh, I'm Rudeth. I'm an archer."

"I'm Rex. Monster tamer," the middle guy stated with a nod.

"I'm Volmond. A swordsman," the youngest of the three stated with eagerness. "I'm also 19. Single. And my hobbies are fitness, swordplay, and going to the beach."

"..." the gunslinger reacted with a couple of blinks. Not sure what angle they were trying to do, she decided to introduce herself.

"I am Selbith...I'm a gun wielder."

"Really?" Volmond stated with interest and walked closer to her. "I also like..."

"..." Ami reacted with reaching behind her.

Grabbing a pistol handle that was holstered to the back of her pants, she whipped it out forward. Copying the stance and firing position that Jin used many times quickly, the muzzle made contact with the man's forehead. All three men froze as they looked at her large size firearm. Only taking a quick glance at it, she recognized it as the weapon that was obtained and useable in Pandora's Box. Remembering the amount of recoil and power it produced from firing, she re-gripped the gun slowly.

"Do not...approach me so friendly...swordsman," Selbith stated evenly. "If you wish to keep your head...back off."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa," Rex stated putting his hands up. "Let's just calm down for a second."

"..." the female shooter responded with narrowing her eyes and frowning at them.

"Sorry about that," Rudeth mentioned with his hands up. He approached the swordsman from behind and pulled him back. When they were back at the spacing that they were, Ami relaxed her face a little. Lowering the gun, she kept both hands on it and eased off her aggressive stance.

"Anyways...Selbith," the monster tamer began after clearing his throat. "Why did you log in if you knew that you'd be trapped in here?"

"...I am looking for someone that is trapped in this world," she stated. Keeping her face forward, there was sounds of movement around where the water fountain was.

"However...I do not know where their location is."

"Have you tried IM this guy or gal?"

"...no...I have not tried to-?" the female teen started then stopped. Seeing something on the bottom of her vision, the scroll of text stated there was a new message.

"That sounds like you got a message," the archer stated with a small smile. "Guess you weren't a newbie. Go ahead. We won't interrupt."

"...I see..." Selbith stated with a blink.

Lifting her right hand off the gun, the sounds from the water fountain seemed to be louder as if something was moving the liquid. Ignoring it for now, she touched the scroll. Seeing it flash a little, it then faded away. The menu screen came up then the admin tab was selected. Messages was highlighted and opened up to the first communication she received. Pressing on it and reading it, her face frowned.

[Are you here bonehead?]

"...why that..." Ami muttered to herself. Wondering how to talk back, she also thought of what to vent back. Miraculously, what she wanted to say was inputted. Blinking and looking for confirmation it was sent, there was a floating icon that said send. Pointing her finger at it, the message window minimized that portion a little.

[...(-_-*)...what are you doing here wench?]

[...(-_o)...sigh...great...another headache to worry about]

[You get in my way thief...I will make you regret that you did]

[Get in your way of what?]

"..." the three men heard something from the water fountain in the center of the courtyard. Turning their heads to the left, something was rising out of it. It took the shape of a silhouette at first. Slowly, the figure started to become more detailed and show that it was a female.

[He is mine...I will find him if that means destroying the lands and people of this realm] Selbith wrote with a stern look on her face.

[...no...]

[No?]

[That's right. HELL NO] Rogue responded back with red text. [I'm going to find him first. You can't have him]

[...] the gunslinger reacted with scowling. [...if that is how this will be...so be it...you are good as dead]

[Bring it you psycho bitch!]

"..." Ami reacted with clenching her hands into fists.

Her teeth bit down together and gave a scary expression. Exiting out of the windows with a wave of her hand, she glared at the three men. They were looking at something to their left with surprised faces. Trying to calm down, she felt a familiar presence getting closer to her. Remembering who it was, she looked to her left to avoid the individual's gaze.

"...who is that?" Rudeth whispered while watching a woman step out of the water fountain. Her features and presence seemed attractive.

"...don't know...never seen her before," Rex commented quietly and equally captivated.

"...please let them be friends...please let them be friends..." Volmond repeated to himself.

"...?" the female individual said looking confused.

Observing around herself, it seemed that she didn't see what she was looking for. Turning toward the group of three men that were staring at her, they were near a lone individual. Deciding to ask them if they saw someone, she started walking toward them. Oddly the closer she got, the lone figure started to seem familiar. Noticing that the three males were enchanted a bit from her approach, the other person with white hair did not look at her. Stopping a couple of feet away, the familiarity was even stronger.

"Excuse me," the older female teen asked with a perky voice.

'...it is you...' Selbith muttered in her mind. Slowly turning her head to look at the individual, it was Lamia. Staring at one another, the water demon seemed a little surprised.

"Yes Lamia?" she spoke and turned her body to face her.

'YES! THEY KNOW EACH OTHER!' the swordsman shouted in his mind enthusiastically.

"...?" Lamia responded with blinking then gave a curious smile. "Hi. I didn't know I was that well known out here. Have we met before?"

"...?" the gunslinger asked tilting her head with mild confusion. "Is this a joke water demon?"

"...I'll admit...I thought a person I was looking for was here...maybe it is because you are a gunslinger too," she stated losing a bit of her spunkiness. It was replaced with a semi-serious expression.

"Maybe you know him...or have seen him."

"If you are talking about the Breaker, I have not seen him," the shooter answered flatly.

"...!"Lamia reacted with a pleasant surprise. Smiling, she went into Selbith's personal space. Taking her left arm, she interlaced it with the gunslinger's right arm.

"You know him too!? Yay! Let's team up-" she began then stopped. The gunner prevented her from pressing herself onto her chest. Blinking and looking down at the shooter's chest, the sight made her feel surprised. The crop top also gave further distinction of a physical difference.

"...you are female..."

"Did you just noticed? Get off of me," Ami stated and pulled her arm free. Taking a couple of steps back to create space, the water demon saw something. In the gunner's left hand, there was a large matte black pistol. Recognizing it as something that the Breaker used, she became puzzled.

"...alright...who are you?" she demanded with glowing eyes. Her expression lost all perkiness it had making the three men slowly back up.

"Who do you think I am you imbecile? I am Selbith."

"...Selbith...that is the same name as the defect Grim Reaper..." Lamia stated then put her hands on her hips. "However, I do not know you. I have never met you until now."

"...!?" the gunslinger responded with flinching in surprise. Staring hard and baffled at what the water-demon stated, she reset her face to a neutral one.

"...I see...if that is so, I have nothing more to say," she stated. Turning around, Ami started walking toward the entrance of the town.

"..." the other female spoke narrowing her eyes at the cloaked older female teen.

'...there is something strange about that gunslinger...I honestly thought he appeared here,' Lamia thought confused and irritated. 'How was he able to appear then just vanish? The others and I agreed to share an indicator presence of something close to the Breaker's criteria...maybe there are others that are similar?'

About to use a bit of her power, a strong demonic presence suddenly appeared. Blinking and looking up at the sky behind her, something was coming fast. Recognizing who it was, she felt the gunslinger stop. Turning her head to look at the shooter, Selbith did not move. However, her fists were clenched intensely. So much so, they started to shake.

'...interesting...that isn't fear...' the water demon thought. The sensation that she felt from the individual was slowly growing.

"Whoa!?" Volmond reacted from hearing a sonic boom.

He and his teammates looked to the sky and in the direction were it seemed to have occurred. In fact, all the townspeople and players had stopped moving. All were glancing up and searching for what made that loud bang. It did not take long as something was flying down from the clouds with great speed. As if moved closer, it became a silhouette with gargoyle wings.

"Demon approaching!" one player shouted from the other side of the water fountain.

The announcement caused the townspeople to flee to their homes and buildings with haste. Before any of the warriors drew their weapons that were around the center piece of the courtyard, the flying individual was just overhead. Instead of attacking, the she-devil headed toward a small group in the direction of the town's entrance. Seemingly recognizing someone, she dropped down near a older female teen with rich blue-green hair.

"Lamia. What a coincidence running into you here," the woman stated and retracted her wings. Her flight appendages slowly contracting into her skin with no skin deformities, stretching, or blood escaping. Wearing a thick leather dress with an exposed back, her front was a deep v-neck that went down to her naval area. The amount of charm she produced was lustrous in comparison to the water demon's.

"Hello Eve...yes...why did you come here?" she asked in a neutral tone.

"I felt that darling showed up here," she began then pointed to the individual in black with a cloak. "However, I do not see him...Who is that person that seems similar to darling?"

"That gunslinger is a female human...her name is Selbith."

"...the same name as the defect reaper?...what a poor choice to be born with," Eve stated with her face looking disgusted a little.

"..." the three men reacted by not moving.

As they enjoyed the sight of the two demon women, they were getting murderous vibes from the gunslinger. Glancing at her, the shaking fist of her right hand was one indicator. Her expression of hate and malice was another. It made them not want to get close to her and calm her down. The third aspect was that she still had her firearm in her left hand.

"...on the other hand. She does know the Breaker," Lamia continued.

"She knows darling!?" the she devil said in surprise. Turning toward the cloaked individual with combed back white hair, she walked to her. The basic smile and the way she walked grabbed the male warriors attention quickly. It easily replaced the uneasiness they felt with something more arousing.

"Excuse me there. My friend stated that you know..." Eve began with a pleasant tone. Pausing, she noticed that the gunslinger was giving off an intense vibe. Oddly, it felt familiar to her for some reason. Shaking her head and stopping behind the person, she ignored the off putting presence.

"...that you know the Breaker. I have been trying my darling for sometime and-!?" she stated then abruptly stopped.

A loud destructive blast erupted from the gunner's inner jacket and shot outward. Aimed at her lower abdomen, a large projectile went through her. Pushing her back a few steps, a baseball size hole was made on her left lower stomach. Everyone in the courtyard heard the devastating crack of gunfire and stared at the group with the she-devil. Lamia and the three guys flinched from the sudden sound and blinked from the damage it did to Eve.

"...?" Eve reacted with looking down at herself. Touching the fresh wound in her abdomen, she was still trying to process what happened. Feeling a push of wind and something cold touching her chest, it was a large pistol. By the time she looked up, she saw an older female teen with a face full of hate and spite.

"D...I...E...!" Selbith growled loudly with piercing crimson eyes.

Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger until the ammo clip was empty. Each consecutive shot was damagingly loud and destructive. At point blank range, Eve's chest exploded creating a basketball size hole. The following two fires were at her shoulders which blew off her arms. The final bullet was aimed at her chin in an upward angle. From the explosion at the muzzle, Eve's head erupted as if a cherry bomb was planted in it.

Gore and innards shot everywhere. Most of it flung backwards and painted the stone pathway with red and different colors of the she-devil's insides. Lamia was not in direct line of the backsplash of the carnage, but she did get splashed with crimson. The three male warriors that were near by got sprinkled with blood even though all backed up more when the following four gun blasts occurred. Everyone in the courtyard froze as they witness the brutal slaying of the female demon.

"..." Lamia and the three guys flinched from hearing loud clicks.

Glancing at the gunslinger, her face was still enraged as she continued to pull the trigger again and again. Though there were no more bullets left, the muzzle and the discharge port for the cartridges were smoking a little. Looking back at what was left of the she-devil, her lower half still stood despite all the gore that painted it's limbs. Seeing movement of the large pistol, they turned back to the shooter. Selbith was breathing angrily as she spoke with maliciousness at the corpse.

"Damn whore," Ami said harshly. Kicking the lower half of the she-devil, the legs fell to the ground hard. Standing on two feet and still feeling the intense emotion, she looked up and gave a nasty glare at the water demon.

"...stay...out...of...my...way...Lamia."

"..." she responded with a blink. Without pause or warning, she vanished. Several feet away from them, she reappeared before disappearing again.

"...what the..." Rex muttered and blinking with shock. "...what kind of skills are those?"

"...those are top-tier abilities..." Rudeth mentioned quietly. "Have to be."

"Vanishing step?" Volmond commented with equal volume amazed at what he saw.

"Maybe something like that," the archer replied with a small nod.

"..." Lamia said staring with surprise at what happened.

The sight of Eve's upper half being blown apart was startling. Just the sheer display of destructive power at close range was enough to convince her that human weaponry was fatal to all demons. A puzzling aspect was why did the she-devil lower her guard and not evade. Another one was the gunslinger's reaction to the flying demon. Not only was it that the female gunner knew her, but the hateful malice that was expressed meant something had happened between them.

'If that gunslinger has similar signature characteristics as the breaker...is she his double?' the water demon pondered not caring about the blood and pieces that were on her. Looking at where the Selbith went, there was no trace of her. Even in the distance, there was no presence that she could feel.

"How strange...does this mean that...the Breaker isn't here?" she muttered to herself and turned around.

Ignoring the stares or the calls to her, she walked back to the large water fountain. Reaching it and stepping over the small wall to be in the water, she instantly was engulfed by the fluid. By the time players nearby rush to her, she was no where to be found. Looking into the water fountain, there was no hole or monster at the bottom. Hearing reactions from where the dead body was, it started burning with hell fire. All the body, bones, and blood converged into the fire till it dissipated.

"..." the staff in the programmer office spaces commented at Gamco Inc. HQ.

When the monitor tech stated that one of the demon viruses appear, Rodger told him to put it on the main large screen. All stopped what they were doing and watched what would happen. When Lamia began talking to gunslinger, another demon signature materialized. Coming down from the sky and landing in the town of Stratnum, everyone continued to be glued on what was going on and what would happen next. When Eve approached the gunslinger, the staff froze.

Seeing a blast occurred, the staff's eyes widen a little from surprise. For Rodger, the aspect that one of the demon viruses was actually harmed from a firearm shot seemed shocking and relieving. When the shooter quickly changed position and pointed a large pistol at Eve's chest, everyone saw the person's expression. Full of malevolence, the sight of it was intense. However to the programmer, something about how the gunslinger was acting seemed off.

[D...I...E...!] the gunslinger growled angrily and began to shoot again.

"Shit!" one employee said leaning back a little.

"...!?" others stated with cringes on their face.

"...jesus..."

'...the settings have been changed...' Rodger thought crossing his arms. Watching the she-devil being blown apart and gore splashing everywhere, he felt more contemplative than what the staff was expressing.

'...however...based on what Adam stated...the gunslinger was marked as the "Breaker"...and thus...the settings for playing was changed to realism.'

'If that is the case, then this is the same character...but,' he continued then looked at the blacked clothed and slick back white hair female avatar. 'That doesn't prove that it is the same gamer playing.'

"Gunslinger moving away toward the first stage fast," the monitor tech stated from his screen.

"Continue to monitor...alright...let's get back to our stations and tasks," the lead programmer stated out loud. Everyone went back to their work, but commented on how graphic the live feed was.

In the second cloning facility in the remote grass land area, the defect Eve clones massacred all the staff in the cloning lab. Some killed the employees out right in brutish fashion. Others tortured them while a small portion engaged in erotic acts before murdering them. The remaining did all three, but killed their victims first. Only the machinery was making an opposing noise to the barbaric slaughter.

One of the clones stood the closest to the orb in the middle. Feeling something strange, she was suddenly surrounded by crimson flames. Initially panicking and grunting, the other defects rushed away to avoid the fire. Getting to a safe distance, all of them felt the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end. The lone clone in the fire started to roar deeply and monstrously.

"RRRAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Eve shouted above the crackle of fire around her. Producing out her wings, she made both flap down fast and hard once. The red blaze blew away and died off.

"THAT MORTAL WILL PAY FOR PLANNING TO STEAL MY DARLING!" she blared with rage.

"..." the other clones responded trying to hide or not make a sound.

Back in Hell, the surrounding solid vision of red suddenly went away. Standing on something and looking around himself, Jin saw that he was on the larger platform. Glancing back, it was the small floating island that he was on. Turning around to face the floating island, it had added features that were different. There were two piled rock pillars around the middle area. It gave the appearance of walking through gate to enter.

'...teleportation...since when do reapers have that ability?' the Breaker asked in his mind.

'Power is always there...channeling it...has to be with one...that has individuality and a purpose...beyond being a reaper,' Scy responded back.

'...?' the male teen responded with opening then closing his mouth. Finding another way to interpret, Jin spoke.

"...so in retrospect...you are a defect reaper?'

'...H...o...w...d...i...d...y...o...u...ggggguuueeeessssssss?' it stated to him. Cringing a little from how its voice sounded and the clammy feeling he received, the emotion from his double was different. Unlike Selbith who loathed being called that, Scy seemed to embrace it. Thinking about it and how his reaper self came to be, it made some sense why it would be a defect.

'...takes one to know one...I guess...' the Breaker responded looking up at the top of the pillars. Each one had a monument of gigantic goat head horns that were about the size of a pick-up truck. The set on the right did a slight curve and pointed toward the ceiling. Glancing at the one on the left, its pair curled on itself and pointed downwards.

'...so this is where we are...' Scy stated in his mind.

'...which is what mister tour guide...'

'...heeeeeee...why not go forward? I'll tell you while you are being...' his double began when there were monstrous sounds ahead of them.

Getting into a defensive stance, Jin gripped the scythe firmly and pulled the hoodie over his head. Climbing up from over the edge on either side of the island were several imps that growled loudly. Hovering away from behind the pillars were two red Grim Reapers that hissed at the sight of him. However, there was a deep bass roar that was further behind the horn structures. Seeing something huge in the distance, the male teen cringed from seeing that its height was not what was overbearingly big.

'...entertained...yyyeeesssss?'

"I hate you," Jin stated with a grim face then charged forward.